Mandatory Customs compliance under Chapter IVB can trigger confiscation of specified goods even without proof of intended export.

Non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of Chapter IVB of the Customs Act, 1962 renders specified goods liable to confiscation under Section 113(1), even where actual intent to export is not proved. Chapter IVB operates as a special preventive regime to curb illegal export and facilitate detection of specified goods; Section 11J requires the prescribed intimation and compliance, and breach of those requirements attracts confiscation. The tribunal treated the appellant's shifting explanation about the silver and later reliance on an amnesty scheme as supporting the conclusion that the goods were not satisfactorily explained. The contravention was substantive, not merely technical, and the penalty was held to be valid and not excessive.

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Issues: Whether silver kept in the appellant's premises was liable to confiscation and penalty for non-compliance with Chapter IVB of the Customs Act, 1962 despite the plea that it was not meant for export.

Analysis: Chapter IVB was enacted as a special preventive measure to curb illegal export and to facilitate detection of specified goods. Section 11J required intimation and compliance in respect of specified goods, and Section 113(1) made such goods liable to confiscation where the Chapter IVB requirements were contravened. The heading of Section 113 did not confine its operation only to proved attempts at improper export; the expression used in the provision extended to other situations covered by the chapter. The appellant's shifting stand regarding the source and character of the silver, coupled with the later resort to an amnesty scheme, supported the conclusion that the goods were not satisfactorily explained. The contravention was therefore substantive and not merely technical, and the penalty was not shown to be excessive.

Conclusion: The confiscation of the silver and the penalty were held to be valid and proper.

Ratio Decidendi: Non-compliance with the mandatory requirements of Chapter IVB of the Customs Act, 1962 renders specified goods liable to confiscation under Section 113(1), even if the goods are not shown to have been actually intended for export.

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